Corporate Reputation

Uber to begin appeal over London licence denial

A London court is to decide if Uber is “fit and proper” to hold an operator licence in the capital, following a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court that is expected to last several days. In September 2017, Transport for London refused to renew Uber’s licence on grounds of public safety and security. It was however allowed to carry on operating in London while waiting to appeal. Various media outlets have quoted a memo reportedly sent by Uber to Transport for London, in which it said that as many as 1,148 London-licensed Uber drivers had been accused of “category A” offences such as sexual incidents, stalking and dangerous driving. Uber has said that it has made significant changes, such as improving procedures for reporting criminal actions. The court will take the changes made by Uber into account and decide whether it is now fit to hold an operator licence. (BBC)

Inclusive Business

UK ministers shake up contract bidding rules to include social value component

Measures to make it easier for small businesses, charities, co-operatives and social enterprises to bid for UK government contracts will be unveiled by ministers in an attempt to rebuild trust, following the collapse of Carillion. In the wake of criticism of the government’s handling of the outsourcing company, ministers plan to change the rules so that when companies are bidding for contracts, their “social values” will be taken into account, as well as whether they provide value for money for the taxpayer. “We will extend the requirements of the in central government to ensure all major procurements explicitly evaluate social value where appropriate, rather than just consider it. By doing so, we will ensure that contracts are awarded on the basis of more than just value for money, but a company’s values too, so that their actions in society are rightly recognised and rewarded,” David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, is to say. (Guardian)

Employees

Australia orders “world first” sexual harassment inquiry

Australia will conduct a national inquiry into sexual harassment in workplaces in what it is billing as a “world first” response to allegations of sexual misconduct highlighted by the #MeToo movement. The year-long independent inquiry by the Australian Human Rights Commission will investigate the drivers of harassment, the economic impact of the behaviour and how the existing legal framework can be improved. It comes as a new survey shows there has been an increase in reports of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces since a similar exercise in 2012, when one in five people reported they had experienced misconduct. Australia’s sex discrimination commissioner, Katie Jenkins, said the inquiry would raise public awareness and recommend rules aimed at eliminating sexual harassment in the future. The possibility of making sexual harassment a criminal offence would be considered by the inquiry, she added. (Financial Times*)

Supply Chain

Child labour rampant in tobacco industry

Evidence from a Guardian investigation has shown that child labour in tobacco remains rampant, in spite of claims by multibillion-dollar companies that they are tackling the issue. Evidence from three continents shows how children aged 14 and under are kept out of school and employed in hard and sometimes harmful physical labour to produce the tobacco leaf that fills cigarettes sold internationally. The companies involved say they monitor child labour and remove children from the fields to go to school, but experts have told the Guardian that the number of child labourers is going up as tobacco growing increases in Africa and Asia. Vera Da Costa e Silva, head of the secretariat of the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, said about 1.3 million children a year were working in tobacco fields in 2011 and, according to the UN’s International Labour Organisation, the numbers are rising with a shift in tobacco growing from some of the better-off countries to some of the poorer. It declined between 2000 and 2013 in Turkey, Brazil and the United States, but increased in others, such as Argentina, India and Zimbabwe. (Guardian)

Energy

India to bring forward 100,000 megawatts of new solar power

The Indian government has signalled its intention to launch the largest tender for new solar power capacity in the world. Power Minister R K Singh, speaking at an event in New Delhi, has announced that the government plans to launch an unprecedented bid for 100,000 megawatts (MW) of new clean energy. The 100 gigawatts (GW), would far exceed anything that has ever been constructed, although the minister didn’t provide exact timings for the project. Mr Singh also told the audience that India has already brought forward 70 GW of renewable energy capacity, and has another 12.5 GW in development. The minister has previously spoken of his confidence that India would surpass its target to build 175 gigawatts of renewable energy “well before 2022”. (Climate Action Programme)

Events

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